UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY

Kings Point, New York 11024

Course Outline – DB230 –Management
AY 2009-10 - Second Term

Instructor: S. K. Shah, Ph.D. Office: 309 Bowditch

Telephone: (516) 773-5386 Hours: Wed 1100 -1200
E-mail: shahs@usmma.edu and from 1400-1600.
Also by appointment

Textbook: Andrew J. DuBrin, Essentials of Management (8th ed.), Thomson South-

Western, (2009).

Course Description: A comprehensive course designed to explore the world of a

manager with emphasis on the principles and practices of management. This course
focuses on the managerial functions of planning, controlling, staffing, directing, and
motivating individuals and workgroups. The objective is to enhance midshipmen
knowledge and thinking about workings of organizations and the relevance of
management concepts as and when they embark on their professional career.

Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to familiarize midshipmen with the
knowledge, role, responsibilities, and skills required of modern managers - whether
you serve as a merchant marine officer or an entry-level position of your choosing.
The material covered will be relevant to you, regardless of your career objectives
on shore side or at sea. Indeed, in the final analysis, we are all managers of our own
lives and can benefit by studying to be better managers. Specifically, the course
will --

1. help midshipmen understand theoretical and practical aspects of management

practices and policies.
2. encourage midshipmen to apply acquired knowledge and skills to various
situations in different types of organizations (i.e. profit, non-profit, service - on
shore side or at sea).
3. understand the impact of globalization on the increased diversity in the
workplace.
4. develop interpersonal skills in communicating ideas and supporting one’s
position.
5. sharpen workplace competencies (i.e. resource management) and foundation skills
(i.e. critical thinking, problem solving and decision making).

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate understanding and application of the principles of management and

behavior in organizations.
2. Demonstrate understanding and application of a sampling of quantitative
techniques and tools in the functional areas of business.

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 3. Demonstrate understanding and appreciation of organizational planning/strategy
in a changing global environment.
4. Evaluate major factors for becoming a more creative problem-solver and effective
decision maker.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of socially responsible behavior.
6. Communicate effectively in oral and written format

Mode of Instruction: Course material will be presented in a lecture format, problem-

solving situations, case analysis, role-plays, scenarios and simulations of the real world
applications, individual and group discussions, etc. This approach will –

• encourage midshipmen-faculty interaction.

• facilitate collaboration, commitment, and cooperation among midshipmen.
• enable application of their learning to their regimental or personal life, and
• sharpen their time management skills, etc.

Achieving Personalized Recognition and Overall Success in the course: As leaders,

you are destined to be captains at sea or shore-side in maritime or related industry. Given
the critical role management skills play in the viability of any organization, please stay
alert, evaluate ideas from floor or the podium, take proper notes, and share your
experiential observations with the rest of us. Also, please note the following:

Promptness and attendance: Please arrive on time. Midshipmen are required to attend
classes regularly. You will be held accountable for all work, notes, and assignments missed.

Preparation: Be ready with your assigned readings to take charge of a class discussion
when called upon to do so.

Adherence to Schedule and Performance: There will be three 1-hour exams (15% x 3 =
45%), and a 2-hour final exam (15%). All tests will be cumulative and contain essay(s),
multiple choice questions, and/or case analysis, etc. There will be no make-up exam.

There will be one term paper (15%), covering any topic of your choice relative to the
sections on Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling identified in the text. This
paper will be due a week after the discussion of that particular section is completed.
There will be no exception in the timeline of this policy.

Please write a meaningful paper to get a better grade. So, here is a framework that you
might want to consider: 1. Select a topic that you are particularly interested in, because it
will be easier to write. 2. Develop an outline of your paper – what do you want to write
about? Why? Is there anything written about it? Do your research (investigate) and
collect necessary information that supports your thought or refutes it. Has the new
information swayed you one way or another? State your position and reach your
conclusion. 3. Use headings and sub-headings to render more substance to the quality of
your paper (e.g. Introduction, Problem Identification, Approach to solution, Analysis,
Discussion, Summary and Conclusion).

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Start with an introduction (where you will enunciate what the paper is about, how did it
evolve in your mind, your objectives and reason(s) for selecting the topic and/or writing
about it, significance of the content, scope and limits of your paper, how do you propose
to reach a conclusion; and develop rest of the paper accordingly. In preparing this paper
make sure you integrate your personal reactions with the material from the text. Your
paper should be typewritten, double-spaced, and about five pages in length. Also, please
follow proper report writing procedures with regard to spelling, grammar, footnotes, etc.

There are case problems at the end of each chapter. They describe various situations that
require application of the concepts learned in the immediately preceding chapter
combined with your common sense and general knowledge. Please form groups of 3 for
case analysis and group presentation (15%). Please evaluate your assigned case, give
your rationale, follow with details, and then summarize the questions posed at the end of
each case.

Class participation (10%) is expected of all midshipmen. Individual and intra-group

participation is encouraged since it is vital to the learning experience and enhances verbal
communication skills.

A Note on Studying/Reading/Performing well to make a difference in this course:

Before coming to class, please read the text, go over learning objectives, margin notes and
definitions, special features and concrete real world examples, all exhibits, key terms and
phrases. Relate some of the special features to your personal/family/friends experience and
compare them with those discussed in class to increase comprehension and then generalize
from such aggregation.

Lecture notes are very important, because I will go beyond what is contained in the text and
hold you accountable to everything discussed in class (even though some of the material
may not be in the text). Review lecture notes with the material in the text, and carefully
examine the specifics noted in the text.

DO NOT hesitate to contact me personally or by email. Generally, I respond promptly.

Grading:
Three 1-hr exams 45%
Final Examination (2-hrs) 15%
Term paper 15%
Case Analysis & Group Presentation 15%
Homework and Class Participation 10%

Grading Scale:

A = 92+ A- = 90 – 91 B+ = 87 – B = 82 – 86 B- = 79 – 81 C+ = 77 –
89 78
C = 73 – 76 C- = 70 – 72 D+ = 67 – D = 60 - 66 F = 59 (-)
69

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 COURSE SCHEDULE AY 2009-10 Term 2

Week/Dates Topics Assignment

1 Adm. Details & Overview of Ch. 1 The Manager’s Job. “My
11/10-11/13 management thought. Managerial Role Analysis”
11/11 VETERAN’S p.15.
DAY
2 International Mgt and Cultural Ch. 2 “Cross-Cultural Skills
11/17-11/20 Diversity and Attitudes” p.59.
3 Ethics and Corporate Soc Ch. 3 “The Ethical Reasoning
11/24-27 Respo.. Inventory” p. 76.
THANKSGIVING
RECESS
11/25, 26, 27
4 Essentials of Planning Ch. 4 Group 1 Presentation
12/1-12/4 EXAM#1 on 12/1/2009 pp.35 Pl. see next page for
dates
5 Problem Solving and Decision Ch. 5. Group 2 Presentation
12/8-12/11 making pp. 69-70 next page for dates
6 Quant. Tech. – Planning & Ch. 6 Group 3 Presentation pp.
12/15-12/18 Dec. 111 next page for dates
WINTER LEAVE
12/18/09 – 1/03/2010
7 IS/IT and e-Commerce Ch. 14 Group 4 Presentation
1/5-1/8/2010 pp. – 144-45 next page for
dates
8 Essentials of Control Ch. 15 Group 5 Presentation
1/12-1/15 EXAM#2 on 1/12/2010 pp.184 next page for dates
9 Leaders and managers Ch. 10 Group 6 Presentation
1/19-1/22 1/19 MONDAY SCHEDULE pp.217 next page for dates
10 Motivation Ch. 11 Group 7 Presentation
1/26-1/29 pp. 544. next page for dates
11 Communications Ch. 12 Group 8 Presentation
2/2-2/5 pp. 366-7 next page for dates
12 Teams and Teamwork Ch. 13 Group 9 Presentation
2/9-2/12 pp. 405-6. next page for date
13 Managing Productivity, Selected topi s cs from Ch. 16-
2/16-2/19 ineffective performers, and 17
stress EXAM#3 on 2/16/2010
14 Jobs, human resources, and Selected topics from Ch. 7, 8,
2/23-2/26 organization change & 9.
structure
Term ends 2/26

15 FINAL EXAMS WEEK Final Exam TBA

3/1-3/5

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 DB230 – MANAGEMENT – Case Analysis:
Improving Your Diagnostics and Analytical Skills
| GROUP MEMBERS CASE Sec 2D1 2T12
1 The Management Trainee 12/2 12/3
Blues p.35
2 Cardone IndustriesFeels the 12/9 12/10
Heat from China P.69
3 Is it FairAnyone owns Rights 12/16 12/17
to Asthamahelp.com? p.111
4 What should Dell Do Next? 1/6 1/7
P.144-5
5 The Sticky-Priced Condo p. 1/13 1/14
184
6 Just-in-Time Worries at Univ. 1/20 1/21
of Utah Hospital p.217
7 Microsoft Counts Calories for 1/27 1/28
Employees
8 Tough as Nails at Home Depot 2/3 2/4
pp.366-7
9 We Need More Engagement 2/10 2/11
Around Here pp. 405-6

GROUP PRESENTATIONS
Since you are already acquainted with each other, I would like to leave it to you to develop your
own group/team of no more than three/four members and no less than eight or nine teams in all.

Purpose of each team:

Think about what your team goal should be for a formally assigned Case that you will present to
your colleagues in class.

Format of your CASE presentation:

Each presentation will be no longer than 15 minutes followed by Q & A. Please state –

1. What are the important FACTS of the CASE?

2. What are the major PROBLEMS in this case?
3. What are the possible CAUSES of these problems?
4. What theory (or theories) or concepts from the chapter are applicable?
5. What SOLUTION can you realistically prescribe?
6. What assumptions did you make to JUSTIFY your solution(s)?
7. Share with us your related personal observations/experience from your company,
regiment, sailing periods, internship, other project(s) etc.

Please use your creativity to make your presentation interesting for everyone in class. One of the
criteria for your presentation grade will be how well you succeed in getting everyone
INVOLVED / ENGAGED in course of your presentation.

Please SUBMIT to the instructor your presentation OUTLINE one day BEFORE IT IS DUE.